CHAPTER 7 Defining Evangelizing - Evangelism Unlimited

Thomas P. Johnston 351
Therefore the etymological division of the word euvaggeli,zw into two words is historically quite
late.
10. ETYMOLOGICAL: Could it be that dividing the verb euvaggeli,zw into two words is falling
prey to the “Root Fallacy” as described by Donald Carson?
“One of the most enduring errors, the root fallacy presupposes that every word actually has a
meaning bound up with its shape or its components. In this view, meaning is determined by
etymology; that is by the root or roots of a word.” 483
Notice, for example, the Hebrew word yatab in Deut 8:16, meaning “to do be good or to do
good to,” wherein the emphasis is truly the concept “good.” This word actually contains the root
tob or “good.” However, the Hebrew basar, which was verb translated euvaggeli,zw 20 times in
the 2 nd Century B.C. LXX, does not contain the term “good” or “gospel” as later incorporated
into the NT text through Jerome’s Vulgate. Basar rather simply means “to bear tidings” (BDB),
or “publish, bear (good) tidings, preach, show forth” (TWOT), or “1. Bring (good or bad) news;
2. Make known” (Holladay). 484
It would seem therefore that the semantical division of the term euvaggeli,zw comes down
from the tradition established through Jerome’s Vulgate. Notice for example Rom 15:20:
Analyzing the Text of Romans 15:20
Greek Orthodox Text* NKJ Douais-Rheims (1899) Latin Vulgate
οὕτω δὲ φιλοτιμούμενον
εὐαγγελίζεσθαι οὐχ ὅπου
ὠνομάσθη Χριστός
And so I have made it my aim to
preach the gospel, not where
Christ was named
And I have so preached this
gospel, not where Christ was
named
*The only difference between the GOT and the Nestle-Aland text is the οὕτω rather than οὕτως.
Sic autem praedicavi Evangelium
hoc, non ubi nominatus est
Christus
The observant reader will notice two major changes in Jerome’s Vulgate: (1) the removal of any
translation for the verb φιλοτιμούμενον, “make it my ambition”; and (2) the dissecting of the verb
εὐαγγελίζεσθαι into two parts, translating it rather as “preached” and “gospel.” Needless to say,
these translation adaptations correspond to the historic antagonism of the Church of Rome to NT
evangelism.
Could it be that Jerome utilized the “Root Fallacy” to disperse the emotive power of the verb
“evangelize” in this poignant passage? And could it be that his translation has influenced many
English translations since that time? By the way, the above Latin translation is verified in the
1230 Occitan New Testament and Wycliffe’s 1382 translation, both translated from the Latin.
11. INSTRUCTIVE/CATECHETIC: If students of the Bible had the opportunity to see the
biblical word “evangelize” in its context, this could alleviate current definitional difficulties:
Assist readers in developing a normative biblical definition of evangelizing, as opposed
to the confusion and conflict that now exists
Provide an understanding as to the role of evangelizing as it relates to the Great
Commission
Assist in understanding the commonality and differences in the biblical weight of
evangelizing and discipling, cf. Acts 14:21
Consider the wisdom of calling evangelizing one of several spiritual disciplines (for
example, this author questions the giving of the same weight to evangelism as to the
“spiritual disciplines” of journaling or of silence and solicitude). 485
These reasons, and perhaps others known only to God (Who chose to use the Greek word euvaggeli,zw), make
it commendable to translate euvaggeli,zw as “evangelize” in the New Testament, as well as possibly in some
places in the Old Testament.
483 nd
Donald Carson, Exegetical Fallacies, 2 ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996), 28.
484BibleWorks 8.0.
485Cf. Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1991).